What Revenue Does The WSOP Bring To Vegas?
Las Vegas as we know it today would not be possible if it weren’t for the casino business, which was the foundation upon which the city was constructed. Regardless of how you feel about Sin City, there is no ignoring the fact that it is a really unique location that cannot be replicated in any other part of the world.
The whole casino industry is huge, but poker is only a small portion of it. Casinos were established long before poker became famous. Despite this, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) brings tens of thousands of visitors to Las Vegas each year, the majority of whom are not in the city specifically for the tournaments.
Visitors to Las Vegas will rack up expenses for accommodation, food, and a variety of entertainment options, including gambling, while their money is in the city.
How significant is the World Series of Poker in the great scheme of things, and how much revenue does it bring into Las Vegas thanks to the WSOP’s presence there? The question is not the simplest one to answer, but I’ll try my best to respond to it.
How Much Money Is Necessary for a Trip to Las Vegas?
Attendees of the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas have free freedom in selecting the tournaments in which they choose to participate during their stay in the city.
Because the rake in each event ranges between 5 and 10 percent, this factor alone is responsible for a significant increase in revenue for both Rio and the WSOP.
For instance, the World Series of Poker made more than $5.1 million in profit from the Main Event alone in 2019. The casino kept the majority of the money, while the dealers each took home a portion of it.
Therefore, it is evident that the Series draws in a significant amount of money directly from the buy-ins, and these funds are sent to a single location.
However, there are a lot of other things to take into account when thinking about how important the WSOP is for Las Vegas.
Every year, the Series is watched by tens of thousands of people from different countries all around the world. They will remain in Vegas for a total of six weeks, during which time they will spend both their time and their money there, which is sure to be a significant boon for the local economy.
The most recent data available are from 2019, and they come from regular polls that are carried out by the city to determine how much money an average tourist spends on things like food and entertainment.
The most recent poll indicates that the typical individual will spend their money on
A daily cost of $21 for entertainment
- $93 a day on food
- $318 a day on gambling
Therefore, a person who goes to Las Vegas for a week with the intention of competing in certain WSOP tournaments can wind up visiting approximately $3,000 “on the side.” This does not even take into consideration the cost of going out at night, which can rack up a significant tab in Vegas.
It’s true that certain casinos provide free alcoholic beverages, but if you plan on hitting the clubs, you better have a lot of cash with you.
Of course, this is not an exact science because many players who are going to the city, particularly for the WSOP, would attempt to manage their spending and stay away from the gaming tables in order to conserve their bankrolls. This is one reason why this is not an exact science.
However, the majority of individuals that come around this time will be seeking to get the most out of their trip and won’t be hesitant to shell out a little bit of more cash in order to do so.
After all, it’s not every day that you get to spend some time in a city that’s buzzing with insanity 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
In addition, visitors who are in town for the World Series will make every effort to spend as much time as they can in the host city. Because there are usually so many tournaments on the calendar, it doesn’t make much sense to merely visit for a few days at most.
This is especially the case for people traveling all the way from Europe or Asia, where transportation costs are significantly higher.
Therefore, the city of Las Vegas may earn anywhere from $2,000 to $5,000 in revenue per guest for every week that they remain in the city.
Because the World Series of Poker lasts for around six weeks on average, and tens of thousands of participants enter and exit the tournament each year, there is a significant amount of money available.
Las Vegas Hotels
It should come as no surprise that all of these folks traveling to Vegas will require lodging.
Serious grinders who aim to remain for the entirety of the event will investigate the availability of private accommodation choices, and they will often rent a lovely property where they will stay for a few weeks at a time.
However, the typical tourist who is only going to be in town for a week or two will almost certainly wind up buying a hotel room, which provides Las Vegas with yet another significant source of revenue.
The quality of the hotel, as well as its proximity to the Strip both, have a significant role in determining the cost of a stay there. They begin at around $60 each night and can go up to $200, even if all of the costly alternatives are disregarded.
As a result of this, we may deduce that the typical traveler will spend roughly $120 each day on accommodation, and most likely anywhere between $750.00 and $800.00 for their whole trip if they are staying for a week.
When you double that number by an amount like as 20,000 or 30,000, you obtain a figure that is considered to be rather large, even by Vegas’s standards.
Without the World Series of Poker, what would these numbers look like?
One could be forgiven for thinking that because Las Vegas is such a well-known tourist destination, the city would continue to see a large number of visitors and would not experience a significant drop in revenue even if the World Series were not held there.
Even while it is hard to know for certain, given that the World Series has been played for more than 50 years, it is highly unlikely that this is the situation.
Although there are a great number of things that make Las Vegas a magical place, one of those things is not the weather.
People search for locations to hide from the high temperatures during the summer months since the heat can sometimes be intolerable outside. If you have ever traveled there during this time of year, you are aware of this fact. A life without air conditioning is nearly impossible to bear.
Therefore, if given a choice, most individuals would want to schedule their WSOP vacation for the spring or fall months, when the weather is far more favorable. Why considering all that’s taken into account, would you put yourself through such a challenge?
Poker fans, on the other hand, do not have that luxury, as the World Series of Poker Tournament takes place (typically) in June and July.
They are required to make their trip during the summer months in order to participate in the annual poker that attracts the most players. There is just no way to avoid dealing with it.
Is this something that those in Vegas in charge of planning the World Series truly thought about, or was it just something that happened by accident? Who is to say.
The reality of the matter is, however, that the Series is responsible for bringing a significant number of visitors to the city during a time of year when it would otherwise be very calm.
Additionally, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) has something to offer those individuals who aren’t very interested in traditional forms of gambling.
Those that come to play poker will, of course, also spend a significant amount of money on other activities, such as going out to dine, seeing a variety of performances, partying, and other activities.
There is no way to dispute the fact that the World Series of Poker has been very beneficial to the economy of Las Vegas and will continue to be so in the years to come. Because of this, the decision to call off virtually all live poker tournaments scheduled for 2020, including the World Series of Poker, came as a very harsh blow.
It should not come as much of a surprise that Las Vegas witnessed a significant decrease in the number of visitors in 2020 when compared to the previous several years.
Since 2014, an annual total of more than 40 million individuals have been recorded as visiting visited the city. This number reached 19 million in the year 2020.
One Of The Foundations Upon Which The Las Vegas Economy Is Built
The World Series of Poker is an event that, when everything is said and done, contributes significantly to the general health of Las Vegas’s economy. Things aren’t always what they appear to be, despite the fact that it could look like there’s plenty of money in the city.
Vegas is a very costly machine, and in order to keep it operating smoothly and efficiently, it requires a lot of money and large personnel behind the scenes. The city is required to keep things going at all times, yet the money that is brought in is spent just as quickly as it is received.
The costs of sustaining such casinos are mind-boggling, as there are employees to be paid, taxes to be covered, and other charges.
In such a scenario, the World Series of Poker plays a very significant part in preserving the equilibrium of the situation and ensuring that the city receives an adequate amount of activity even during the slower months.
It is easy to believe that despite the heat, there would be a significant drop in the number of visitors to Las Vegas during the months of June and July if it weren’t for the World Series of Poker (WSOP).
Las Vegas, being a city that relies significantly on tourism and visitors from other areas, is presumably quite appreciative of the fact that they get the opportunity to play home to the world’s most important annual poker tournament.
The rake and fee money that participants at the World Series of Poker directly contribute is only a small portion of the overall revenue picture. Although it is a significant sum, it is little when compared to the amount of money that is spent in other areas of Vegas.
Las Vegas makes a lot of money off of people that come to town for the World Series of Poker (WSOP), whether they are coming to play or merely to accompany players. This money comes from accommodations, shows, and entertainment.
Would Las Vegas be able to function normally in the absence of the World Series of Poker? It very certainly would have that effect.
But if the World Series of Poker were to be canceled, the city would undoubtedly suffer since the amount of money brought in during those two important months would fall by a considerable amount.
